Death Reenactment

Should we chase after him to explain? Explain what? Repeat 'his pure revolutionary camaraderie with Lan Zhong'?

He had explained after the drunken phone call in the middle of the night before. What was Lu Chenyang's reaction that time? He directly threw out the "Three No's Law" at him: No love, no ambiguity, no possibility.

Besides, what right does he have to explain? She'll probably just tell him, "We're just friends, your relationship is none of my business," and give him a piece of her mind. She might even reiterate, "I don't like men!"

Young Master Yu is ambitious beyond measure, and values ​​his reputation more than his life. He remembers vividly how he felt when Lu Chenyang rejected him so sharply and bluntly in the car last time. He would never do something so humiliating a second time.

Moreover… Young Master Yu’s wicked schemes began to churn again: it’s easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Now he’s been coaxing Lu Chenyang every day, spoiling him rotten, and his position in the family will be in jeopardy if they live together later. That won’t do, I’ll leave him out for one night first.

Young Master Yu was so impressed with his own "foresight" that he immediately pulled Lan Zhong along and headed to the hotel he had booked in advance to attend the wrap party.

From the start of the banquet, Yu Sheng was like a free-spirited colt, dragging Lan Zhong around the room. With such a warm and "approachable" investor, others naturally flocked to toast him. Yu Sheng accepted everyone's toasts; he had a high alcohol tolerance and rarely got drunk.

Throughout the first half, Yu Sheng tried her best to avoid looking at Lu Chenyang, attempting to hypnotize herself into thinking that he didn't exist.

While he was in the bathroom, he couldn't help but steal a glance. Coincidentally, Lu Chenyang was looking at him. Their eyes met, and Yu Sheng felt like he had been struck by lightning. He jumped up and quickly looked away guiltily, looking like a petty thief caught red-handed by the police, shrinking back and slipping away.

Why is he so guilty? What does he have to be guilty of!

Yu Sheng locked himself in a toilet stall, sat on the toilet, and irritably ruffled his carefully styled wolf tail, turning his perfectly curled hair into a bird's nest.

How pathetic! He was so angry at his son's lack of ambition that he got angry with himself.

As he calmed down, Lu Chenyang's gaze became increasingly clear in his mind. At first, it seemed as sharp as an arrow, as if it wanted to pierce him through. Now, upon closer reflection, he sensed something different. That gaze was deep, and the pupils trembled for a moment when their eyes met, like dusty amber beads, conveying an indescribable sense of grievance and pitifulness. Like a child abandoned in a corner by their parents.

Heartache. That was Yu Sheng's only feeling at that moment. Lu Chenyang had just gone through that exhausting "death scene," his emotions fluctuating wildly as he struggled to break free of the role. This "perpetrator" not only offered no comfort, but also deliberately made him feel wronged.

bite--

A WeChat notification interrupted Yu Sheng's self-blame. It was a message from Lan Zhong.

—Lan Zhong: "Your little lover is leaving."

Lu Chenyang is leaving? The wrap party isn't over yet. Yu Sheng didn't have time to think; she rushed out of the restroom as fast as she could and headed straight for the underground parking lot.

Looking around the empty garage and seeing no one in sight, he quickly sent a message to Lan Zhong.

—Libertas: "Has he already left?"

They replied quickly.

—Lan Zhong: "Just came downstairs."

Thankfully, he hadn't left yet. Yu Sheng circled around the underground parking lot for a long time before finally finding Lu Chenyang's black SUV. While he was still in the elevator, Yu Sheng quickly tidied her messy hair in front of the car window, then squatted down next to the car, pretending to be drunk and weak, waiting for Lu Chenyang to "take the bait".

"Beep beep—"

The car lights flashed twice beside her, followed by a crisp unlocking sound. Yu Sheng squinted and looked up, deliberately lowering her voice to sound hoarse, as if she were drunk and uncomfortable, "Officer Lu... you're here..."

Lu Chenyang looked down at him, his gaze just as it had been the first time they met at the hotel—upright and sharp, as if scrutinizing a petty thief who had committed a crime. "What are you doing here?"

"I'll wait for you." Seeing that Lu Chenyang had no intention of helping him up, Yu Sheng shakily got up, supporting himself on the car door, and deliberately staggered a few steps toward Lu Chenyang. "Officer Lu, I've been drinking and can't drive. Can you take me home?"

"No." Lu Chenyang refused decisively, "Go back the way you came."

How did he get here? He came in Lan Zhong's car! Lu Chenyang seemed genuinely jealous. A hint of secret joy had just surfaced when it was suppressed by an even greater panic. He couldn't let this trivial matter push the distance they had finally narrowed back further away.

"No." Yu Sheng hurriedly explained, her tongue almost tied in knots, "Lan Zhong had something to do, and we weren't going the same way."

"So you come to me when he needs something? Am I just a backup option?" Lu Chenyang scoffed. "I'm not even going that way!" He then turned to leave.

"I can't keep up the act any longer!" Yu Sheng grabbed Lu Chenyang's wrist, preventing him from getting into the car. "Don't go. I don't want to ride in someone else's car. I just want you to take me."

Lu Chenyang paused, stared blankly for two seconds, then sneered, turned around and looked directly into his eyes, "Not pretending anymore? Weren't you so drunk you couldn't stand up straight?" He approached step by step, and Yu Sheng could only retreat step by step, compressed with no space, his lower back slammed into the car next to him with a "bang".

“Yu Sheng.” His voice was low and his tone was gentle. “You really have a talent for acting. Every expression you make is carefully designed, and every word you say sounds like a script. Can you tell which words are true and which ones are not?”

Yu Sheng looked away, not daring to meet Lu Chenyang's eyes. Just as he had said, he approached Lu Chenyang with a purpose, and every step was carefully considered and planned. He did not listen to Lao Bai's words. He was not sincere, but he could not be sincere.

“Officer Lu…” Yu Sheng forced herself not to back down, slowly raised her head, and tried to show weakness and tug at the other party’s clothes as before, but her hand awkwardly stopped in mid-air because Lu Chenyang had stepped back and did not give her the chance.

“…You’re right.” Yu Sheng took a deep breath to steady her heart, which was about to jump out of her chest.

The underground parking garage was eerily silent; if it weren't for the pounding of his own heart, one would almost think time had stood still. His upbringing hadn't allowed him to express his true emotions; all his thoughts had to be carefully crafted. The truth had to be hidden within lies, and the lies had to be told in a way that even he himself believed.

He paused for a moment, then looked down and gave a self-deprecating smile. "But I really need you."

He ultimately lacked the courage to uncover his secret. PTSD remained a nightmare, coiling around his vulnerable neck, tightening imperceptibly until he was completely suffocated.

"Whether I believe it or not is irrelevant." Another voice finally broke the silence, like ripples spreading from a stone thrown into a deep pool.

Lu Chenyang opened the driver's side door. "Do you even believe it yourself?"

Lu Chenyang didn't linger and quickly got into the car, starting the engine. He didn't dare look at Yu Sheng; the pain in her eyes was too intense, burning him with discomfort.

Yu Sheng's affections are hard to discern as genuine or feigned, like a soft, flower-strewn trap. Once you step in, you'll be entangled by countless invisible vines, unable to escape. But sometimes, even these vines can become tiresome.

He didn't want to guess, nor did he want to distinguish between truth and falsehood. Tonight, that person moved through the crowd, vibrant and radiant, the focus of everyone's attention. But he felt like a tattered rag doll that had been played with and carelessly tossed into a corner.

When he saw Yu Sheng, who was pretending to be drunk, in the parking lot, everything seemed to have returned to square one. He only felt ridiculous and ironic, and he didn't know what else he could do besides making hurtful remarks in a self-protective manner.

Lu Chenyang felt he needed to take a break. He was too immersed in the role; his acting skills were still lacking, and it was difficult for him to break free from the character.

Watching the taillights of the car disappear into the underground parking lot, Yu Sheng slumped to the ground in despair. His phone rang for a long time; it was Lan Zhong. He answered slowly, but his mind had already wandered off with that SUV, lost in thought.

"Hey, Ah Sheng, did you catch up? How did it go?"

"Don't even mention it." Yu Sheng wiped his face, his eyes a little moist. His voice was full of exhaustion. "He left, leaving me behind."

"Damn, you've gone too far," Lan Zhong said gloatingly. "Then you'd better call your driver to pick you up. You've had a lot to drink, so don't drive. Something came up, so I can't take you home."

"Okay, I understand." Yu Sheng hung up the phone. Lu Chenyang had already left, so it didn't matter who saw him off.

*

Late at night, Lu Chenyang returned to his quiet home, left a message for his grandmother at the hospital saying he would visit her the next afternoon, and then immediately turned off his phone. He needed to get a good night's sleep; he was too tired, more tired than he had ever been.

He woke up at 11 a.m. the next day, the latest he had ever woken up since he started police academy. He had promised to visit his grandmother in the afternoon, so he hurriedly got up to wash and get ready, only to realize that his phone hadn't been turned on. No wonder it was so quiet.

The moment it was turned on, the phone vibrated and buzzed wildly, like a lit firecracker.

The screen was filled with red notification numbers for missed calls, text messages, and WeChat messages. Once the phone quieted down, he saw that most of the calls were from his agent; wondering what the emergency was, he immediately called back.

The call was answered instantly, and the voice on the other end was practically a roar: "Chenyang, why was your phone off! Something terrible happened last night! Young Master Yu from Dongyao International Bank was in a car accident last night. This is definitely related to you. It's been reported in the news. It was your fan—no, your stalker! Your stalker stalked Yu Sheng last night, deliberately cutting her off and causing a rear-end collision on the overpass. Yu Sheng's car crashed directly into the guardrail, and she's still in the hospital!"

Yu Sheng! He was in a car accident?!

boom--!

The message exploded in Lu Chenyang's mind. He forgot to breathe, his blood froze instantly, and his vision went black.

“Chenyang, this is huge! The police have intervened, and it seems they're going to charge it as premeditated murder. I asked around, and that stalker is the one who was arguing with Yu Sheng on Weibo a few days ago. She seems to have some mental issues, and she even said she was doing this to help you clean up the mess. If this blows up, your public image will be ruined. The 'entertainment industry police chief's' fan premeditatedly killed someone for his idol… this… this…”

The person on the other end of the phone was still talking non-stop, but he couldn't hear a single word. "Which hospital?"

“Yaoguang, I couldn’t find out which ward it was. Sigh, Chenyang, I think Yu Sheng has a good impression of you. Go and plead with him, be humble, and if he agrees, this matter will be easy to handle. The company is already working on public relations.”

Lu Chenyang had no time to care about public relations. He quickly hung up the phone and rushed out of the house, his fingers trembling so much that he could barely hold his keys.

He got his driver's license at eighteen and even won racing awards at the police academy. Now, he crashes into a wall the moment he starts the engine.

No! Calm down! Driving in this state is tantamount to suicide. He quickly composed himself, opened the car door, and ran to the entrance of the residential area as fast as he could to flag down a taxi.

On the way, he opened his phone, and the headline on the news page was eye-catching: "A celebrity was followed late at night, and was seriously injured while speeding on an elevated highway. His life is in danger."

Their fate is unknown! Their fate is unknown!

Lu Chenyang felt as if his hands no longer belonged to him, and he couldn't press the call button for Yu Sheng no matter what he did.

If... I hadn't stormed off last night and had personally escorted him home, would this have prevented this from happening?

If... he hadn't said those hurtful things, given Yu Sheng's personality, she would have definitely "fought" and hitched a ride with him, and wouldn't this incident have been avoided?

If... he had stepped forward to mediate the conflict between the stalkers immediately when the Weibo incident occurred, would this have prevented the incident from happening?

if……

Lu Chenyang dared not think about how badly Yu Sheng was injured. He desperately called Yu Sheng, the phone ringing again and again, the mechanical female voice repeating over and over without anyone answering.

The scenes of last night's "death scene" replayed in his mind, the bloody image appearing before his eyes, overlapping with reality. He was holding Yu Sheng, the person in his arms with a large hole in her chest... blood and foam continuously gushing from her mouth...

—'What would it feel like to watch me die in your arms…'

"Imagine, I'm the one who dies..."

"I was murdered by your illegitimate child..."

Gao Qiu and Yu Sheng have truly become a closed loop of fate.

He rushed into the hospital after getting out of the car, threw himself at the information desk, his chest heaving violently, his breathing heavy like a broken bellows, "Car accident last night, surnamed Yu, where is he!"

The nurse was startled by him and stammered out the ward number.

Lu Chenyang turned and ran. He left in a hurry without any disguise, and his blatant running around the hospital had already made him recognized by many people, who were taking pictures and videos with their phones.

He disregarded everything else; all he could think about was that this person couldn't die, couldn't die.

Even if he's disabled, it's better that he doesn't die. Even if he's disabled, he'll still have him; he'll take responsibility! He'll support him for life!

He finally rushed to the ward door, but suddenly stopped, as if all his strength had been drained. He gripped the doorknob and trembled, unable to turn it.

But the next moment, laughter came from the ward. Lu Chenyang's pupils shrank sharply, and he pushed open the door. The scene in front of him made his mind go blank.

The person, whose fate is uncertain and who may be permanently disabled, is currently lying in bed eating an apple, with one leg in a heavy cast.

Beside the bed, an elderly woman with gray hair but an exceptionally kind face was patiently peeling oranges for him and gently feeding them to his mouth, saying, "Child, eat slowly."

"Grandma?!" Lu Chenyang exclaimed in disbelief.

Lu Chenyang stood at the door, sweat still dripping from his forehead, his extremely disheveled face revealing his shock and bewilderment.